I remember through the first couple years I was acknowledging all the mini-milestones like 1 year, 18 months, 2 years, 30 months.
Then through this past winter, with his lengthy disappearances, I wondered if and when I would see him again. The last couple winters it has gone as such. I start marking the calendar with our last "encounters". It's always a blast when I suddenly see him in his spot outside the backdoor after weeks of being away.
Whoever would have thought I would have befriended a Pigeon? Not me 10 years ago. As I say, I never hated them, I would never hurt one, but they weren't high on my list. Hell I even helped a few injured ones back in these times. But I would never have believed something like this would happen.
But it was him, with his grand appearance back in 2012, literally hopping into our lives that started it. And I found myself growing fond of him rather quickly.
He spent that whole first weekend with us, just hanging out, and even taking part in a small gathering of friends that Saturday afternoon.
He's my buddy. He has a lot of trust in me. Our adventure over the last Christmas season, going to Toronto Wildlife because of the thread wrap around his toes, is the ultimate proof to this.
Who could ever forget our Global News piece the other winter. See here.
It's fun to revisit some of the short videos I've taken over the years like this one. One of his typical tantrums. Here's another.
He is a big Pigeon and his personality is even bigger.
I don't know how long this ride of ours is going to last. I do try to embrace every visit even though I never think of it as possibly being our last. My much needed first coffee of the morning is often delayed to cater to him first. He always seems quite appreciative.
Some people seem to forget that he is a wild bird. Sure he may come off as tame and lovable but he is not one to become a pet, never to be caged. He comes and goes as he pleases. He makes his own choices like who he may come to hand and feed from. No one should ever take offence if he does not come to them.
Happy anniversary Pierre! Here's to many more moments together!
1 comment:
Nice post to start the day! Thanks Rob. I miss the "regulars" that used to come around (a pair of little foxes being foremost in my mind), but once we got a dog, the wildlife held it's distance. (I should backtrack on that though, as the crow family never leave.)
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